The present invention relates to apparatus and method for removing cutting residue from the surfaces of cut meat. The cutting residue is formed when meat is cut, for example, with a band saw, into discreet pieces.
In the processing of cut meat, residue, which is the result of the cutting process, is left on the cut surface of the meat. Such residue includes bone meal, bone marrow, fat, protein and other components freed or formed during the cutting process. Such residue remains on the cut surface of the meat and it is believed to be a quality and product appearance negative for consumers.
Means have been devised in the past to remove the cutting residue. One residue remover is a machine made by Hobart. The Hobart machine removes residue by scraping the meat surface. These machines are no longer made, are high maintenance, slow, not very effective in the removal of the residue, require manual handling of the meat resulting in reduced shelf life, and reduce yield. These machines can also leave undesirable deformations on a scraped surface.
Another method and means for removing the residue is hand scraping one or both (at least the one to be viewed by consumers) of the cut surfaces. This is very labor intensive and thus expensive. It is also monotonous work and therefore makes it difficult to find help who want to perform the task. Hand scraping may also increase the incidence of repetitive motion and ergonomic injury. Hand scraping also is not very effective at removing the residue, leaving unacceptable quantities of residue behind. Scraping can embed cut bone material into the meat making it difficult to remove and resulting in it being left in the meat. The retention of bone material does not present a product safety issue but can be a product appearance negative. Scraping also reduces yield by removing non-deleterious material from the meat surface. Scraping may lead to the transfer of deleterious material from one piece of cut meat to subsequent pieces of cut meat increasing the risk of spreading contamination. Because hand scraping permits only the scraping of one side of a piece of cut meat at a time, further labor must be expended in order to turn the meat if both sides are to be cleaned of residue. Hand scraping is often done in combination with the use of the mentioned Hobart machine to improve the effectiveness of the scraping process.
Thus, there is a need in the meat industry for an improved means for and method of removing cutting residue from cut meat reducing hand labor and improving the appearance and yield of cut meat.